Reflexive verbs and personal routines

What you’ll learn

• Match a reflexive pronoun to the subject.
• Place pronouns with conjugated verbs and infinitives.
• Distinguish a reflexive action from an action on another person.

The action returns to the subject

A reflexive construction can describe an action a person does to themselves. Compare Lavo al niño with Me lavo: in the second sentence, the speaker is also the person being washed. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os and se. They match the subject even when the subject pronoun is omitted. Use the ordinary verb ending as well: nos lavamos has both a first-person plural pronoun and verb.

Infinitives are often listed with -se, as in lavarse or levantarse. Remove that se to identify the verb, conjugate it and choose the right pronoun. Not every verb with se has a literal English 'myself' meaning. Learn routine expressions such as acostarse and sentirse in context rather than translating each small word separately.

Put the pronoun in the right place

With a simple conjugated verb, place the pronoun before it: Me ducho. Put no before the pronoun in a negative sentence: No me ducho ahora. With an infinitive after a verb such as querer, you can attach the pronoun to the infinitive or put it before the conjugated verb: Quiero ducharme and Me quiero duchar.

For body parts, Spanish commonly uses a definite article when the owner is clear from the construction: Me lavo la cara. The verb can have its own irregularity: acostarse gives me acuesto, while levantarse is regular in the present. Keep pronoun placement and verb conjugation as two separate checks when reviewing your sentence.

Useful vocabulary

levantarse

to get up

ducharse

to take a shower

acostarse

to go to bed

Common mistakes

• Nosotros requires nos, not se, in these reflexive constructions.
• Do not conjugate both verbs in quiero ducharme.
• Use the article in me lavo las manos when the body-part owner is clear.

Keep these ideas

• Match the reflexive pronoun and verb ending to the subject.
• Put pronouns before a simple conjugated verb or attach them to an infinitive.
• Reflexive verbs can also have irregular stems.

Use it in your life

Expand a character's morning routine with three reflexive actions. Include one negative sentence and one infinitive construction.

Read it in context

Look for this lesson’s ideas in a complete Spanish story. Read the passage first, then use its translations to check your understanding.